An Ideal Husband is an 1895 comedic stage play by Oscar Wilde which revolves around blackmail and political corruption, and touches on the themes of public and private honour. The action is set in London, in "the present", and takes place over the course of twenty-four hours. "Sooner or later," Wilde notes, "we shall all have to pay for what we do." But he adds that, "No one should be entirely judged by their past." Together with The Importance of Being Earnest, it is often considered Wilde's dramatic masterpiece. After Earnest, it is his most popularly produced play. In the summer of 1893, Oscar Wilde began writing An Ideal Husband, and he completed it later that winter. His work began at Goring-on-Thames, after which he named the character Lord Goring, and concluded at St. James Place. He initially sent the completed play to the Garrick Theatre, where the manager rejected it, but it was soon accepted by the Haymarket Theatre, where Lewis Waller had temporarily taken control. Waller was an excellent actor and cast himself as Sir Robert Chiltern. The play gave the Haymarket the success it desperately needed. After opening on 3 January 1895, it continued for 124 performances. In April of that year, Wilde was arrested for "gross indecency" and his name was publicly taken off the play. On 6 April, soon after Wilde's arrest, the play moved to the Criterion Theatre where it ran from 13–27 April. The play was published in 1899, although Wilde was not listed as the author. This published version differs slightly from the performed play, for Wilde added many passages and cut others. Prominent additions included written stage directions and character descriptions. Wilde was a leader in the effort to make plays accessible to the reading public.

オスカー・ワイルドの「理想の夫」は、洗練された機知の裏に、人間の不完全さと赦しへの渇望を秘めた至高の傑作です。完璧という虚像に縛られる現代社会に対し、過去の過ちをも抱擁するワイルドの人間愛は痛烈に響きます。華やかな社交界で真実の誠実さを問い直す彼の言葉は、今なお鮮烈な輝きを放っています。 映像版では豪華な様式美が目を引きますが、原作にはワイルドが読者のために加筆した「雄弁なト書き」が宿っています。役者の表情を超えた心理描写や鋭利な箴言を活字で追う体験は、映像の感動を深い思索へと誘うでしょう。両メディアを往復し、美学と倫理が交錯するワイルド文学の真髄を、ぜひ全身で浴びてください。